My landlord wants me to "de-clutter" the flat for viewings

Weeinterpreter

I am moving, and my landlord has already had a few viewings. I have been really accommodating to him, have cleaned the flat, have vacated the flat during the viewings as per his request. This is problematic for me as I am working from home, but I am trying to be accommodating as best as I can.

Now, he has told me: "One thing I wanted to mention was; I think we need to ‘de-clutter’ the flat - try and reduce the amount of belongings. Maybe we can have a chat about that."

I haven't had this chat yet, and quite frankly, I am pretty annoyed at this, but maybe I am just overreacting. It's not like a have a lot of stuff that would clutter the flat. When I moved in, I brought a desk with a swivel chair, a table with two chairs and a bookshelf rack I put in the living room as well as a chest of drawers and a small side table in the bedroom. 
 
The flat is not super big, but it is tidy and you can freely move around. What am I supposed to do? Throw away my belongings? Do I have to? This landlord keeps making me feel as if he is doing me a big favour, because I am trying to move out before the tenancy is over, he keeps sending me mails about cleaning the flat (as if I am the dirtiest tenant he has ever had) etc and this feels more and more abusive. And whenever we meet he pretends to be oh so nice and oh so concerning.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: Just a quick addition, as I think, I wasn't clear about this earlier. The viewings have started after Easter, and before that, I already threw away anything I don't want to take with me. Right now, I only have the furniture that I want to take with me up north. I have been waiting to pack, because then, there would be even more clutter laying around. 

root

Tell him to do one

justworriedabit

Bottom line dear OP, you pay the rent, your home, your choice. Ask him if L will pay for secure storage and removals and then to the new address. Good luck.

moneysavinghero

Dear LL,

Thankyou for you recent enquiry. I can confirm that my decluttering fee is £x.xx.

Alternatively you may wish to hold back on viewings until i have vacated the property. At this point all my belongings will have been removed and the flat cleaned to the standard it was in before i started my tenancy.

Let me know how you wish to proceed.

Kind Regards
Weeinterpreter

The above would be how i would respond if it was just the end of the tenancy. But as you are looking to end it early it might be better to try and be as helpful as you can in finding the LL a new tenant. The Landlord IS doing you a big favour - he could make you keep paying until the end of your tenancy if he wanted.

princeofpounds

Legally you don't have to do anything. Legally he doesn't have to let you leave the tenancy early. Anything else between is basically negotiation.

He isn't being abusive. Annoying, yes perhaps! He wants the flat to be as appealing as possible so he can reduce his void, but this also presumably benefits you as it releases you earlier. 

If you want him to stop pushing, you'll just have to say something like 'I understand you want the property in its best light, but it isn't a showhome, I have to work at home and I have nowhere else to put my possessions. I will keep it tidy on a best efforts basis but that's all that's realistic'. Then just repeat any time he brings it up.

Edit to add: Some of the replies above may not have considered your comment that you are relying on the landlord for an early release, which changes things. If you didn't need anything from him, then yes, he can 'do one'. 

justworriedabit

root said:

Tell him to do one

How would that help the OP? No point in winding anyone up as OP will need ref, their deposit back etc.  Best to be polite all round and take it from there.

pinkteapot

Honestly, no-one viewing a property that's currently rented out expects it to be clean and tidy (well done for cleaning!). You only get the showhome look when it's a vendor showing your round their house for sale. 

What exactly does he expect you to do with your stuff?! 

I would just say 'I'm sorry but I don't want to get rid of any of my belongings and I don't have anywhere outside the property to store them'. *shrug*

wannabe_a_saver

He can whistle. 

You are being very very accommodating, far more than you need to be.  

Just ignore that email like you would if  someone farted in the room. 

grumiofoundation

justworriedabit said:

root said:

Tell him to do one

How would that help the OP? No point in winding anyone up as OP will need ref, their deposit back etc.  Best to be polite all round and take it from there.

For clarity - 'winding up' your (in this case seemingly very demanding) landlord would not impact on the tenants ability to claim back deposit from the scheme it is protected in. 

(I am not suggesting that being polite is a bad suggestion though)

Weeinterpreter said:

I am moving, and my landlord has already had a few viewings. I have been really accommodating to him, have cleaned the flat, have vacated the flat during the viewings as per his request. This is problematic for me as I am working from home, but I am trying to be accomodating as best as I can. Very nice of you

Now, he has told me: "One thing I wanted to mention was; I think we need to ‘de-clutter’ the flat - try and reduce the amount of belongings. Maybe we can have a chat about that." My first instinct would have been to give a rude response but being amicable - at least initially- (especially depending on what the exact situation with your moving out is) is more sensible.

I haven't had this chat, yet, and quite frankly, I am pretty annoyed at this, but maybe I am just overreacting. It's not like a have a lot of stuff that would clutter the flat. When I moved in, I brought a desk with a swivel chair, a table with two chairs and a bookshelf rack that I put in the living room as well as a chest of drawers and a small side table in the bedroom.  
 
The flat is not super big, but it is tidy and you can freely move around. What am I supposed to do? Throw away my belongings? Do I have to? This landlord keeps making me feel as if he is doing me a big favour, because I am trying to move out before the tenancy is over (see below), he keeps sending me mails about cleaning the flat (as if I am the dirtiest tenant he has ever had) etc and this feels more and more abusive. And whenever we meet he pretends to be oh so nice and oh so concerning. 
Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

As poster above said the landlord is not really being abusive in asking you to clean or move belongings, he is however being really quite demanding.
You are within your rights to refuse to move belongings or clean (as you are within your rights to refuse to allow viewings at all). 

Depending on the answers to the below questions may impact how much you want to push back/agree to.

Have you formally agreed a move out date yet?
You say you are trying to move out before the tenancy is over - do you mean the end of the fixed term?
Is it you wanting to "move out before the tenancy is over" or the LL?

Weeinterpreter

Have you formally agreed a move out date yet?

You say you are trying to move out before the tenancy is over - do you mean the end of the fixed term?
Is it you wanting to "move out before the tenancy is over" or the LL?

I want to move out before the fixed end term, unfortunately. :-(
My term officially ends in October 2021, but my new job starts at the beginning of June, so that's what they advertise the flat for on the moving websites. Otherwise I would have probably sent my LL a proper response, haha. 

[Deleted User]

I think, given the fact you want to move out before the end of the fixed term, you might have to tread carefully (for your own benefit!), but that doesn't mean he can make unreasonable demands of you. Are you able to accommodate a little, without going out of your way to put things in storage or getting rid of your possessions? You are still living there, after all.